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Exploring Career Aspirations in Aviation Sector: Challenges and Strategies

Discover the factors influencing college students' interest in airline careers, including challenges and short-term strategies. Preliminary results and qualitative themes shed light on changing career aspirations and financial aid realities. Contact researchers for more information.

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Exploring Career Aspirations in Aviation Sector: Challenges and Strategies

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  1. Factors Associated with the USAAP Concept Kent Lovelace Elizabeth Bjerke

  2. Agenda • Career aspirations of college students • Careers graduates are seeking • Convincing more students to seek an airline career • Challenges related to the USAAP concept • Short term mitigation strategies

  3. USAAP Concept • Welcome that finally there is some concern in government • It is a place to start looking for solutions • Pilot supply threat is real • Economy driven • Creates interesting issues

  4. Career Aspirations Study (Preliminary) Bjerke and Malott • Participants • Sample (n=240) includes responses from instructor pilots at 17 different university flight programs • Preliminary Results • Initial career aspirations (When flight training began) • 69.2% aspired to be airline pilots • Current short term (next five years) Career Aspirations • 46.3% aspire to be airline pilots • Current long term career aspirations • 37.9% aspire to be airline pilots

  5. Qualitative Themes as to Why Aspirations Changed: • Over a 130 individual comments: • Do not want to be away from family/friends (life style issues) • Regional airline pay coupled with inability to pay back loans • Collegiate programs exposed them to other options in aviation industry • Lack of job security in the volatile airline industry • Being viewed as a ‘number’

  6. Financial Aid Realities • Preliminary Results • 23.7% reported having no debt • Average debt of remaining • $73,016 • 25.8% reported having over $100,000 in financial aid debt • Research Timeline • Continue data collection through fall 2011 • Full analysis Spring 2012 • If interested in the results contact: • Elizabeth Bjerke, PhD – ebjerke@aero.und.edu • Daniel Malott – malott@aero.und.edu

  7. Career Aspirations Survey • Participants • Sample (n=271) UND aviation professional flight majors • Results • Career aspirations • Airline – 151 (56.1%) • Corporate – 57 (21.2%) • Other – 33 (12.3%) • Military – 28 (10.4 %)

  8. Recent Hiring Trends (120 CFIs)2011 • Airline Pilot – 64 (53.3%) • Flight Instruction – 9 • UAS – 5 • 135 Charter - 5 • Military – 4 • Corporate Pilot – 2 • OEM – 1 • Ag Aviation – 1 • Non-Aviation – 2 • Further Education – 3 • Professor – 1 • State DOT – 1 • A/C Maintenance - 1 • Unknown – 21

  9. Career Aspirations CFI,CFII and AJT Students

  10. Qualitative Themes • Low pay at Regional Airlines • Starting pay is low, and cost of living is high. Which includes paying back student loans… I love to fly but being able to live healthy is important to me. • I am spending THOUSANDS of dollars on this training! Why would WANT to go get paid at damn near the poverty line and be responsible for so much? I can make more at burger king! I could make more on unemployment! I would love to really be a airline pilot I really would. But why would I do something for a living where I can barely afford to live?

  11. Qualitative Themes • Lack of Job Security • Job Insecurity. The fact that you may work for one airline for 10 years then lose your job and have to start all over again with another airline. • Unstable work environment • Lifestyle • Its more time away from my family • The lifestyle does not appeal to me. • Scheduling, time away from family, potential need to relocate

  12. Qualitative Themes • Type of flying • I do not want to "fly" by monitoring a computer (autopilot and FMS), I want to be a real pilot and actually fly the plane by using the stick and rudder skills I've learned here at UND. • Might get boring. • Push buttons • I want the flying I do to be adventurous.

  13. Challenges with USAAP • Not all students who want to fly want to be airline pilots • It is not just about the money • How do we treat students in the same degree program differently? • Public institutions absorbing $30,000 in tuition/program fees will be a challenge • Controlled by state law and state board of higher education. • Not for Profit entities • No margin to reduce

  14. Challenges with USAAP • Pilot selection criteria • Very few airlines use the same selection criteria. • Need consensus amongst airlines • Once criteria is determined collegiate aviation would have to adopt similar criteria

  15. Challenges with USAAP • Would the concept of the major airline hiring a USAAP pilot actually work against the graduate because they have a partial debt load to be paid by the airline?

  16. Mitigation Strategies • Securing Supply • Airlines partner with AOPA, EAA etc. on programs promoting aviation and flying • Realize there are changing generational issues with young adults and their motivation • Airline involvement in student recruitment • Airline sponsored career path • JetBlue/Cape Air • ASA/Delta • Airline sponsored scholarships/student debt retirement • Loan Consolidation

  17. Thank you!

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